Brigham Young 1/6 10:00 ESPN2

[Lobot]

Big XII play starts for the Bearcats. It's an on the road and after dark edition from Provo.

BYU is Ranked #14 int he AP poll and #12 in the Coaches poll. At 11-1 their sole loss is to Utah in the Holy War game. That's been their only true away game. The played and beat ASU and NC St. in Vegas over the holidays. The Cougars will play Wyoming today at 6:00 on ESPN+ if you want to check it out.

We have one common opponent in Evansville which BYU beat by 41pts at the Marriott Center.

Other info:

NET Ranking: #2
KenPom: #4
BartTorvik : #5

BYU is a well balanced team with 6 guys averaging in double figures and two more that are close. They're deep with 11 guys in double figure minutes. On paper you'd look at Jaxson Robinson at 16ppg and figure he's the guy to stop but I'd say it's actually Spencer Johnson you need to key on as he's the facilitator. He's a 6'5 guard averaging 10ppg, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. I would think that John Newman will get the Spencer Johnson assigment for this one.

This is going to be a tall task for the Bearcats as the Cougars are undefeated at home this season. ESPN Predictor gives UC a 18% to win. No line has been set yet.

[swilsonsp4]

As a sidelight, one of the Cougars' bigs, Aly Khalifa, is an Egyptian whose sister, Nesma, played for UC's women's team recently.

[Lobot]

As a sidelight, one of the Cougars' bigs, Aly Khalifa, is an Egyptian whose sister, Nesma, played for UC's women's team recently.

Oh wow, I didn't connect the two. I think Nesma might be a staff member with the team if it's who I'm thinking of.

[swilsonsp4]

Final: BYU 94, WY 68. The Cowboys were clearly inferior. BYU picked them apart. The Cougars were favored by about 30 and had that as a lead late.

They move quickly in their offense and share the ball. Wyoming did not guard the arc very well, so the Cougars had lots of open looks. BYU did not show that they're interested in mid-range shots. They pounded it inside and, if that wasn't open, kicked it outside.

The Cougars are long and overplay the passing lanes. When WY got the ball to the low post, BYU attacked. BYU also are an old team. More than half of the squad took their two-year LDS missions.

The Bearcats are better than the Cowboys, who were simply outmanned. Still, this will be the Cats' biggest test thus far. It's going to take forty minutes of concerted effort. Per KenPom, UC are about 15-point road dogs.

[swilsonsp4]

If the barttorvik.com analysis is accurate, it should be a war on the boards in Provo. The Cats are the #7 offensive rebounding team in the country, while the Cougars are #12. On the defensive glass, UC are #1, while BYU are #3.

It will be incumbent upon the Bearcats to hit some shots to reduce the number of rebounding chances for the Cougars.

[GoBearcats31]

BYU 12 in new AP Poll

[swilsonsp4]

The Cougars lead the nation in 3-pointers made per game. They usually have at least four guys on the floor who shoot it well. Tie that in with their elite rebounding and the Cougars will be a tough matchup.

[GoBearcats31]

Big 12 debut for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball against powerful BYU Cougars

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/spo...u/72072977007/

[GoBearcats31]

Aziz may play Saturday; CJ still not practicing

https://x.com/knickoson42/status/174...429-7Zsp1zj4Tg

[red_n_black_attack]

Final: BYU 94, WY 68. The Cowboys were clearly inferior. BYU picked them apart. The Cougars were favored by about 30 and had that as a lead late.

They move quickly in their offense and share the ball. Wyoming did not guard the arc very well, so the Cougars had lots of open looks. BYU did not show that they're interested in mid-range shots. They pounded it inside and, if that wasn't open, kicked it outside.

The Cougars are long and overplay the passing lanes. When WY got the ball to the low post, BYU attacked. BYU also are an old team. More than half of the squad took their two-year LDS missions.

The Bearcats are better than the Cowboys, who were simply outmanned. Still, this will be the Cats' biggest test thus far. It's going to take forty minutes of concerted effort. Per KenPom, UC are about 15-point road dogs.

"BYU did not show that they're interested in mid-range shots. They pounded it inside and, if that wasn't open, kicked it outside." I believe this is ultimately what Wes would like to do or is trying to do, but we need more consistency making shots beyond the arc. I believe our rebounding will be strong enough to keep them from getting second shots and allow us to clean up at least a few misses. I also believe our perimeter defense will be sufficient to disrupt their flow. The biggest key to this game will be making our three pointers. With CJ out, the guys making about 1 of 3 three pointers will have to do better, or we will lose this game. Simas is the only guy I'd trust behind the arc, with a few guys who are either hot or cold; hopefully they are hot Saturday night.

My prediction is both teams will be well below their scoring averages:

BYU 72
UC 64

[Lobot]

"BYU did not show that they're interested in mid-range shots. They pounded it inside and, if that wasn't open, kicked it outside." I believe this is ultimately what Wes would like to do or is trying to do, but we need more consistency making shots beyond the arc. I believe our rebounding will be strong enough to keep them from getting second shots and allow us to clean up at least a few misses. I also believe our perimeter defense will be sufficient to disrupt their flow. The biggest key to this game will be making our three pointers. With CJ out, the guys making about 1 of 3 three pointers will have to do better, or we will lose this game. Simas is the only guy I'd trust behind the arc, with a few guys who are either hot or cold; hopefully they are hot Saturday night.

My prediction is both teams will be well below their scoring averages:

BYU 72
UC 64

3MAS(tm) Needs to be able to get open looks and I'm not sure that will happen against a team of BYU's caliber. We'll see.

[leeraymond]

I had a chance to look at BYU's season stats last night. I cannot remember coming across a team like BYU. They score 90 points a game and give up only 61 points a game. They hold teams to 25% shooting from three. Their leading scorer comes off the bench. They are ranked in the top 12 for both offense and defense. They outscore teams by 28.8 points and they are undefeated at home this year.

UC is in trouble. The main problem is that UC DOES NOT play solid defense away from 5/3. It is very strange. Even with the two games away from 5/3 that were PLAYED IN CINCINNATI, UC gave up 84 points to Xavier and 82 points to Dayton. UC also gave up 81 points to Howard (in overtime). Defense usually travels. So, it makes me wonder; what the f&%$#@ is wrong with these guys when they play away from 5/3? Does anyone have a theory why UC's road defense is so BAD? I would really like to know why. Nevertheless, I still believe that if UC plays a very smart game where they keep BYU from going on scoring runs, they may be able to steal one on the road.

[John P]

I'm not expecting a win but I would like to see them perform up to the abilities do they have. The team seems to have some solid talent but they seem to lack much confidence against better teams, especially when they get away from their home court. Win or lose, I just like to see them give it their all in the face of this much stronger competition they'll be facing. If they just do that, I think they will come out with a few surprise wins this season.

[Lobot]

This is a fun site for stats nerds. Find the BYUs in the charts. According to the site owner, BYU has 9 players listed in his top 250 players nationwide based on his stats . That's more than any other team in the country. They don't have any super high ranked players just a lot of good ones.

https://evanmiya.com/

[Rufus]

"UC is in trouble. The main problem is that UC DOES NOT play solid defense away from 5/3. It is very strange. Even with the two games away from 5/3 that were PLAYED IN CINCINNATI, UC gave up 84 points to Xavier and 82 points to Dayton. UC also gave up 81 points to Howard (in overtime). Defense usually travels. So, it makes me wonder; what the f&%$#@ is wrong with these guys when they play away from 5/3? Does anyone have a theory why UC's road defense is so BAD? I would really like to know why."

I feel that UC hasn't played any defense to speak of in the Miller era. He talked about some defensive training "boot camp" his first year here, but either there is no scheme to speak of, or the players can't grasp it, or refuse to play it, or it interferes with the players creativity on offense to play his defense. Vik was a beast his first year but fouled a lot but I can't recall the last time he tried to block someone's shot. Newman is our best defender and I think it's up to him to start dressing down players who do not give their full effort on defense. If we are to compete
in the Big12 then Aziz, Jamille, and Vik are going to have to learn to be mucho more aggressive. Remember when Cronin complained that Gary Clark was to nice a guy in reference to his full potential? That's where Vic and to an extent Ody are both at right now. We need more braun and less finesse. We will learn quite a lot tomorrow.